European Commuters for Sustainable Mobility Strategies Report of the 2rd work visit – Germany, ACE 1. General framework in Germany Germany’s transport policy is highly determined by federal structures. The responsibilities for planning, constructing and financing are divided between the federal government, the Länder and the local territorial authorities (rural districts, cities). The federal government is responsible for the maintenance of the federal trunk roads (motorways, major roads) which form Germany’s principal road network (network of the first order). A shift in responsibility occurs when major roads run through cities. In this case the municipality is responsible for the maintenance of the road. The construction and running of the federal trunk roads are financed by taxes. Only trucks over 12 ton have to pay a toll when using motorways, a policy which will be extended to some of the major roads from summer 2011 onwards. Furthermore the federal government is responsible for the planning of the infrastructure of the national rail traffic. The operation of the rail traffic, however, is carried out by German Rail Inc. (DB AG). Since German Rail Inc. is completely owned by the federal government both parties usually co-ordinate planning and operation. The planning of the federal trunk roads is set by the federal transport infrastructure plan. Similar plans exist for the railway lines and the federal waterways. Moreover the federal government is responsible for the general jurisdiction influencing mobility (e.g. road traffic regulations, passenger transportation legislation, tax legislation). An example of the latter is the so-called “Entfernungspauschale” (distance-related lump sum) allowing employees to set off 0,30 EUR per kilometre between home and workplace and workday against tax, no matter which means of transportation is used (example: an employee who has to cover a distance of 50 km between home and workplace and who works 220 days a year can reduce the taxable income by 3,300 EUR). At present there are only a few long-distance bus lines but it is planned to extend the net. The federal government’s influence on the transport policy of both the Länder and the local territorial authorities is limited to indirect measures: on the one hand by the general jurisdiction mentioned above, on the other hand by financing special or pilot projects. The Länder are responsible for constructing and operating the network of minor roads (network of the second order). The quality of this road network is strongly influenced by the size and financial power of the Länder. The budget available for the road network of the second order is considerably smaller than the financial means available for the network of federal trunk roads (1st order). In addition, the Länder are responsible for the local and regional rail transport for which they receive financial means from the federal government (so-called means of regionalization). The Länder use this money to finance the running of the trains and to improve the railway’s infrastructure. Which standards in public transport are to be achieved is laid down in the Länders’ legislation on local public transport. 1 / E-Cosmos, Report Visit Germany Just as the federal government the Länder have the possibility of supporting activities at local level by initiating own projects or offering financial help. This support, however, is highly determined by the Länders’ financial power. The Länders’ impetus and support is particularly important for organizing activities between several communities (integrated public transport system etc.). The local territorial authorities (rural districts, cities) and the communities are responsible for the road network within their boundaries. Their most pressing problem with this is that they have to cope with continuously decreasing financial means. Local territorial authorities and communities are also responsible for the “everyday mobility”, such as concepts for public transport, planning of cycle path and footpath networks, road safety etc. So, from the inhabitants’ point of view the most important and noticeable mobility projects are carried out at this local level. 2. Brief report on the works 29 march 2011 Stefan Haendschke, Dena : Effizient mobil – the national programme on mobility management in Germany - Effizient mobil is a mobility management program coordinated by the German Energy Agency DENA (Deutsche Energie-Agentur). The program was developed in a partnership from ACE and dena, based on activities the ACE started in 2003. The ACE was engaged in the steering group of the program and worked as a link to trade unions and work councils. It is the first national MM-program in Germany and ran from June 2008 till December 2010. More info on http://www.effizient-mobil.de/ - The target group of this program were companies and employees and the focus was clearly on soft measures. The trade unions were not involved in the setup of the program but they were invited by the activities of the ACE and played in some cases a role in the implementation of the MM-program on company level. - Within Effizient Mobil a network of 15 exemplary regions was created where municipalities and companies could ask for MM-assistance. The assistance consists of a free MM-scan (mobility profile, accessibility profile and survey amongst employers) executed by private experts. By providing free assistance, Effizient Mobil wanted to create interest for MM within companies and communities. - Rewards were given for “best practice in MM” (2009) and “innovative concept in MM” (2010) - The program was very successful: • interest of companies/municipalities for MM increased clearly • more and more companies hired a MM-expert to assist in the implementation of the proposed measures • a new market for MM-services was created - Based on this success a continuation of the program for the period 2011-2013 is expected. Apart from proposing the same services, focus will be put on evaluation (MaxSumo),quality management and public relation work. Q: what were the main reasons for companies to take part in this program? 2 / E-Cosmos, Report Visit Germany A: economical reasons, corporate social responsibility and general policy linked to EMAS, ISO14000,… The fact that it was a national program coordinated by the Ministry gave the program an official label. This was important for the companies. Juliane Korn, ACE : examples of MM-projects and -campaigns - Juliane Korn describes some good MM-examples from Munich, Frankfurt and Bremen: • Munich is a forerunning city in the field of MM. In 2001 a clear choice for sustainable mobility was made. This was due to the large number of commuters and the limited highway capacity. A key characteristic for MM in Munich is the attention for good marketing. • Frankfurt introduced a successful Bike+Business concept allowing companies and municipalities to enhance the share of bicycle use within the home-work traffic. • the example of Bremen shows that fun is an efficient way for promoting MM - Based on these and other examples, Juliane gives 10 tips for a successful MM-policy for companies: 1/ tailor made solutions 2/ a tactical approach to the management (“look for opportunities”) 3/ commitment between management and employees 4/ mobiteams are efficient ambassadors for your project 5/ marketing and communication are very important 6/ start with an analysis of mobility structures and processes 7/ courage and perseverance are needed 8/ be consequent when introducing restrictive measures (e.g. parkingmanagement) 9/ go for personal approach, give the good example 10/ continuity Martin Stuber, DGB - Martin Stuber from the trade union DGB (Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund - Umbrella Association of the tradeunions in Germany) portraits the difficult situation German trade unions are in: a split between promoting an environmental policy and the defense of employment in the car industry. 70% of all jobs in German economy are directly or indirectly related to the car industry. The old proverb “Verkehr macht Arbeit” (transport creates jobs) is still valid. As an example Martin gives the discussion on speed limit: the majority in the trade union is against a general speed limit. Q: is there a structure in the trade union to deal with MM-measures? 3 / E-Cosmos, Report Visit Germany A: not really. Only Martin Stuber is dealing with MM. There is a responsible person on coordinating level but mobility is one of the 6 or 7 themes he is dealing with and it is never the most important one. Matthias Knobloch, DGB & ACE - Matthias Knobloch explains the history of ACE and its link to DGB. ACE was set up in 1965 as a breakdown service for members of the DGB (trade union). Since 1995 membership of DGB is no longer an obligation but the ACE is in its statute still named as Autoclub of the DGB and the Trade Unions and the trade unions are working in the supervisory board of the ACE.. - ACE plays an important role in the development of MM in Germany. The fact that ACE is an Auto Club is an advantage in this case. ACE is taken seriously by different actors like companies, the car industry, etc. ACE is political neutral but the main contacts are with the socialist and the green parties. 30 march 2011 Burkhard Horn (Author)/ Matthias Knobloch: The Berlin Cycling Strategy - Burkard Horn from the Berlin development department could not take part personally, but gave its presentation on the bicycle strategy and policy in Berlin to Matthias Knobloch who hold the presentation and added some details. Cycling is very trendy in Berlin and the number of cyclists doubled between 2002 and 2008. At the moment 13% of all trips are made by bike (compared to 29% walking, 26% public transport and 32% car). - Especially younger people are into sustainable mobility. There are 3 reasons for this: 1/ younger people have less resources 2/ public transport in Berlin is very good, so no car is needed 3/ sociological trend: young people are less attracted to cars than to other status symbols (mobiles, IT,…) - Berlin developed a dedicated bicycle policy with attention for infrastructure, bicycle parkings, intermodality (bike&ride, public bikes,…) and communication.